Flower pick



Feb 1957 c. sARvlcE, JR.. ETAL 3,392,329

FLOWER P I CK Filed Feb. 21, 1966 CHARLIE SARWCEJQ. f Q HENRY G. QHYHE BY M V ATTOR EY INVENTOR 5:

United States Patent 3,302,329 FLOWER PICK Charlie Sarvice, Jr., Rte. 1, Gastonia, N.C. 28053, and Henry G. Rhyne, Rte. 2, Dallas, N.C. 28034 Filed Feb. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 529,061 7 Claims. (Cl. 4755) This invention relates to flower picks and more especially to improvements in picks to the type discolsed in Patent No. 1,922,165, issued August 15, 1933. This type of pick is suitable for use in flower stemming machines operating similar to the machines shown in Patents Nos. 2,022,043 and 3,197,998, as well as in manual flowerstemming. After the flowers have been stemmed or aflixed to the picks, a wreathmaker grips the picks one at a time, between his thumb and forefingers and inserts them into a wreath form to produce a wreath of the desired design.

In the manufacture of conventional picks of the abovementioned type, ribs or trough-shaped cross-sectional bends are first formed in a sheet metal blank and then the pick is severed from the blank by shearing the rib walls with a single rectilinear stroke of a punch press moving at an acute angle to the wall surfaces. As a result of the latter operation, the marginal edges and one face of the pick intersect at an acute angle to produce sharp cutting edges which must be gripped by the wreathmaker when inserting the pick into the wreath form. Due to the large number of picks required to be inserted manually in wreath manufacture, finger and hand lacerations have become a very serious problem.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved flower pick construction which will substantially eliminate the aforementioned injuries inflicted by conventional picks.

It is another object of invention to provide a flower pick made of sheet metal, wherein the marginal pick edges and the front and back faces of the pick intersect substantially at right angles to thereby provide relatively blunt marginal edges.

Some of the objects of invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a face view of our improved flower pick;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 2-2 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 2A is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG- URE 2 but showing prior art construction;

FIGURE 3 is a crosssectional view taken along line 33 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3A is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG- URE 3 but showing prior art construction, and

FIGURES 4 through 7 are views similar to FIGURE 3 and showing a number of additional cross-sectional shapes which may be-assumed by the body portion of our improved pick.

Referring more particularly to the darwings, the numeral 10 broadly designates a flower pick having a point 11 at one end and a plurality of fingers or tabs 12 at its opposite end, said fingers serving as means for attaching a flower stem to the pick. The elongated centrally disposed body portion of the pick comprises a V-shaped rib having walls 14 and 15 diverging from a bend line 16. Flanges 17 and 18 are formed integrally with the opposite edges of the rib and along bend lines 19 and 3,302,329 Patented Feb. 7, 1967 Flanges 19 and 20 also have opposed edge notches 25 therein which assist in anchoring the pick in a wreath form.

The above-mentioned fingers 12 are integral with and extend laterally from flanges 17 and 18, the outer ends of oppositely disposed tabs or fingers 12 being bent upwardly slightly along lines 12a (FIGURE 2) to provide an initial fold or crimp. When the pick is inserted in a stemming machine, the fingers are further crimped or folded around a flower stem as disclosed in the abovementioned patents.

By arranging flanges 17 and 18 in a common plane, it is possible to shear the opposed edges 17a and 18a atan angle a which is disposed at right angles to the plane and during a single rectilinear stroke of a punch press. During the same stroke, the opposite edges of notches 25 will also be sheared at angle a, are to be sheared at angle a during this same stroke, the bending along lines 12a should be deferred until after the punching or shearing operations; however, since the edges 12a are usually crimped close to the flower stem before the pick is handled manually to form a wreath, the angularity of the cut at edges 12b is relatively unimportant.

It will be observed by contrasting angles a of the present invention with the angles b designating the edge sharpness of prior art picks 27 (FIGURES 2A and 3A) that the sharpness of the pick edges has been blunted to such an extent that the probability of hand injury is de minimus. It will be further observed that for a given width of the pick body portion, the depth of the body portion determines the angularity b, that is, the deeper the V-shaped portion of pick 27, the greater will be the angularity b. The angularity b in conventional picks is frequently 22 degrees or less in order to provide a pick of the desired minimum width and maximum strength.

The two extra 'bends 19 and 20 of applicants pick serve to strengthen it and provide flanges 17 and 18 in a common plane which may be sheared at angle a in a single stroke. Thus, the angularity a is independent of the width and depth of the rib, and moreover, is sufficiently blunt to afford a safety factor which has been absent from picks of this type for more than 33 years as indicated by Patent No. 1,922,165.

FIGURE 4 shows a concavo-convex rib 30, FIGURE 5 a rectangular trough-shaped rib 31, FIGURE 6 a solid semi-circular rib 32 and FIGURE 7 a solid circular rib 33, either of which may be employed without departing from the spirit of this invention.

In the drawings and specifications preferred embodiments of the invention have been set forth, and although specific terms have been employed they are used in a generic sense and not for the purpose of limitation, the scope of invention being defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A flower pick comprising a pair of elongated flat marginal portions, an elongated rib portion disposed between and having its opposite edges joined to the proximate edges of said flat portions, and means extending outwardly from said flat marginal portions for securing flower stems and the like thereto.

2. A flower pick as defined in claim 1 wherein said flat marginal portions lie substantially in the same plane.

3. A flower pick as defined in claim 2 wherein the outer edges of said flat portions are disposed substantially at right angles to said plane.

4. A flower pick as defined in claim 3 wherein each of the outer edges of the respective marginal portions has If the outer edges 12b at least one notch therein, the edges of said notches References Cited by the Examiner being cut substantially at right angles to said plane.

5. A flower pick as defined in claim 3 wherein said UNITED STATES PATENTS marginal and rib portions are V-shaped in cross-section 1,762,908 6/1930 Bennett 47-55 and formed from an integral metal blank. 5 1,922,165 8/1933 Knuutila 47-55 6. A flower pick as defined in claim 3 wherein said 1,990,407 2/ 1935 Kamrass 47-55 marginal and rib portions are trough-shaped in cross- 2,022,043 11/ 1935 Knuutila 72385 section and formed from an integral metal blank.

7. A flower pick as defined in claim 3 wherein said ABRAHAM G, STONE, P i E i rib portion consists of a spike having a thickness greater 10 than that of said joined marginal portions. ROBERT BAGWILL, 5x91111118!- 

1. A FLOWER PICK COMPRISING A PAIR OF ELONGATED FLAT MARGINAL PORTIONS, AN ELONGATED RIB PORTION DISPOSED BETWEEN AND HAVING ITS OPPOSITE EDGES JOINED TO THE PROXIMATE EDGES OF SAID FLAT PORTIONS, AND MEANS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID FLAT MARGINAL PORTIONS FOR SECURING FLOWER STEMS AND THE LIKE THERETO. 